Standing in Their Midst
by Rebekah D. Author
Summary: The Bible is filled with nameless women. These are their stories.
1. Chapter 1

**A little story based on the adulteress in John 8:3-11.**

Their iron grips bruise my wrists as they drag me before Him. My hair, disheveled, flies in all directions. My veil was forgotten.

My clothes, hastily thrown on me, drooped and reveal things that only two men have before seen. As they drag me through the city, the stones along the path leave their gashes in my feet. A trail of blood follows me, for I will die at its end.

My husband, a scribe, the holiest of them all, makes the first accusation. "Master, this woman was taken in the very act of adultery. The law of Moses says we should stone her, but what say you?"

He does not even say my name. Has he given me up for dead already?

The Master looks up, directly at me. His eyes, like fire, do not linger on my body, but rather on my soul. The fire in his eyes burns my soul until I can smell the rotting flesh.

Yet he says nothing.

"Master, this woman has committed adultery. Shall we stone her?" My brother, on the other side of the Master, speaks. The sorrow in his eyes is enough to make me melt in shame.

But what can I do, standing here in their midst?

The Master stoops down, runs his finger along the ground. Does He not hear them? Can He not hear their accusations?

He draws one letter: _B_.

The uproar grows louder about us. Men shout his name, others shout mine. Stone her. Kill her. The law sayeth…

The havoc grows around us, but I hear none of it. My eyes are fastened to His hand, the words He writes in the sand.

 _Be._

They interrupt Him again. "Master, shall we stone her?"

"Who among you has not sinned?" He replies, looking at each one in the eyes. "Throw the first stone. Prove your holiness."

Surely my husband will throw the first stone. He fulfills all the law he obeys all the prophets, down to the last jot and tittle.

My husband looks at me, then at the Master. His chest rises and falls, his breathing grows faster. At last he drops the stone and leaves me: all alone.

My brother follows close behind, and one by one all do in kind.

At last the Master and I are alone. I groan. Surely He, whom we call Lord, is without sin.

He writes another word on the ground. _Clean_.

I cannot bear to meet His eyes when He looks up again. "Woman, where are your accusers? Did none of them condemn you?"

"No man."

"Neither do I. Go and sin no more." He stands and walks away, leaving me alone.

I fall to my knees as the impact of His words strikes me in the heart. Go and sin no more.

I run my fingers along the words He wrote in the sand.

 _Be clean_.

 **Author's Note:**

 **The nameless women in the Bible fascinate me. Is there some particular reason their names are not mentioned? Did the author not know them? Did the author not care?**

 **I have always wondered how this woman felt, and hence this fic.**

 **So, discussion question: Have you ever wondered about all the nameless people (women in particular) in the Bible? Which ones do you find most fascinating?**


	2. Chapter 2

Every day, I looked into unseeing eyes.

She never responded to my hugs and gestures of love, she never let me touch her, not without pulling away.

I never left the house for fear that when I returned, she would have killed herself. She threw herself into the fire once. I patted out the flames, but she jumped in again.

She nearly drowned herself in water, but when I rescued her, her eyes were still the same. She did not know the difference between life and death, not anymore.

For years, this I endured. My husband left. My friends abandoned me once they learned of my demon-possessed daughter. Did they think it would be contagious? Did they fear the same would befall their children as had befallen my daughter?

I sat alone by the fireplace: hungry, alone. There was nowhere left to turn… until I heard that He was coming by.

He. Jesus. The Master. He had healed others. Could he heal my daughter?

When he passed by the street, I shouted after him. "Lord, son of David, my daughter is vexed with a devil."

He answered naught, only walked on. I followed close behind. Could he not see that I am hungry, tired under this heavy load of caring for her? I call out again.

"Lord, help me!"

His followers try to send me away, but still I follow on. How can I do anything else, when my daughter may be dead before I return? "Master?"

At last He looks my way, and sorrow laces his eyes. "It is not meet to cast the children's bread to dogs."

So that is His restraint. He cannot help me, a Canaanite. He will leave us to die alone. I fall to my knees and weep on the ground. "But Lord, even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table."

He kneels at my side and all are silent around. I look up at Him again.

"Daughter, great is thy faith. Be it as you wish."

Though He walked away on that day, when I returned home, my daughter was there. Her eyes were demon-free. She ran to meet me.

 _Even the dogs…_ I contemplated as I went about my work. _Even the dogs eat of the crumbs._

 **Author's Note: Here's another woman whose name was not mentioned in the Bible. You can find the account in Matthew 15:21-28.**

 **What would you do in this woman's circumstances? Would you still have followed Jesus, even after He ignored you?**


End file.
